Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso is likely to make his first-ever address to the nation on Tuesday to take the nation into confidence about the federal government’s commitment to holding the general elections on May 11 and remove all doubts and rumours about delay in polls, Pakistan Today has learnt reliably.
“The prime minister has directed the concerned officials to prepare draft of his speech and the issues that are likely to be covered in his speech are timely and scheduled elections and the plans by the federal and provincial governments to maintain law and order during the polls,” a well-placed source said.
This would add a new chapter to the country’s history as normally elected prime ministers enjoy the privilege of addressing the people of Pakistan directly.
The source added that extraordinary law and order situation in the country, rumours about delay in the general elections and the prevalent uncertainty about the economic situation had compelled the prime minister to take a bold stance and clear the doubts once and for all.
The recent spate of terrorist attacks in three provincial headquarters – Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar – has been alarming and these attacks triggered a new debate whether or not polls would be held on time.
This debate further strengthened after the leadership of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Awami National Party (ANP) in their separate media interactions expressed their doubts about timely elections, fearing that polls were not going to be held per schedule due to worsening law and order.
The federal and provincial leaderships also held a special meeting last week chaired by the prime minister that was briefed by the ISI DG and Interior Minister Malik Habib on security threats. A strategy was chalked out to counter terrorist threats and the Election Commission of Pakistan was also taken on board in this regard.
“In order to remove doubts among political stakeholders and the media, the prime minister is likely to make a categorical announcement about timely holding of elections. He would also take the nation into confidence on other issues, including economic and energy issues,” the official source added.
The source said the provincial governments and the federal government, with input from intelligence agencies and the military, had devised a well-thought-out security plan to counter any threat from the miscreants during the polls and the government was confident to make a public announcement about on-time polls.
When contacted, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Shafqat Jalil confirmed that Khoso was likely to address the nation.
“Although nothing is final, there are chances that the prime minister is going to address the nation. Preparations are being made in this regard,” he added.